Edward Snowden is brave – to a point..
Edward Snowden - American-Russian technologydefying his oath to keep the secrets he exposed secret, Snowden established himself as a man of conscience who was determined not only to speak truth to power, but to do so with uncommon eloquence and conviction.
Lately, however, the endearing construct of Snowden as a principled voice who speaks truth to power has been questioned in light of his sometimes circumspect response to Vladimir Putin’s barbarous invasion of Ukraine, which continues to cause such pervasive carnage and suffering among so many innocents.
Before delving into Snowden’s laconism on Putin’s war, it is important to point out the prickly, unenviable circumstances that the former NSA contractor and his young family confront.
Since June 2013, Snowden has found safe haven in Russia. The US government had made it clear that it intended to use its influence and powers not only to dissuade a slew of other nations from offering him asylum but to prosecute Snowden for telling citizens the truth about what “is done in their name and [what] is done against them” by the vast, unaccountable surveillance state.
In 2020, Snowden shared his reasoning to seek dual citizenship on Twitter.
“After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That’s why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we’re applying for dual US-Russian citizenship,” he wrote. “Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love – including the freedom to speak His decision in 2013 to leak a cache of documents revealing the halting scope, reach and ubiquitous nature of the international cob-web of spies who watch and eavesdrop on you and me was a courageous act.t was a courageous act because Snowden knew the blunt, life-altering risks he faced for sharing with the world the covert, often illegal, work done by spies at the National Security Agency (NSA) and sister intelligence services across the globe in the malleable name of “security”.Edward Snowden is brave – to a point.his mind.”
